You Say Tomato
by MapleKomori
Summary: You say tomato, I say tomatto. You say resentment, I say unspoken love. After years and years apart, Romano finally gets a chance to tell Antonio how he feels. Fluffy Spamano oneshot. Rated T for Romano's swearing.


It was the first day of the horticulture festival and the renowned tomato expert, Antonio Fernandez, was revealing a new breed of tomato. Farmers and gardening enthusiasts gathered from far and wide at the Green Vines Expo to see it. The turnout was even higher than expected, which was great news for Romano Vargas. He'd been looking for an extra job that would help him take care of his idiot brother, Feliciano, so when the opportunity came up, Romano jumped at the chance. He'd gotten a pretty good job, setting up exhibits and helping guests find their way. It was pretty sweet until he saw a discarded pamphlet on the ground bearing a familiar name.

"That Tomato Bastard is here?!" Romano growled through clenched teeth. He looked over his shoulder. Maybe there was something - anything - that could be done far away from the main stage. Yeah. That was what he'd do to avoid running into that guy.

As luck would have it, as soon as Romano turned the corner, there he was. Antonio looked just how Romano remembered him. He hadn't aged a day. Same laughing smile, same unassuming expression, same energetic gait. Romano dove behind a crate of organic watermelons. As he watched Antonio pass, he felt a flood of emotions: nostalgia, anger, wistfulness, and grief over what might have been. A lifetime ago, Romano had trusted Antonio. If only Antonio hadn't been so bossy and distractible, and later, so emotionally mushy. Antonio had been everything Romano simultaneously loved and hated. In his adult life, not a day went by when Romano didn't wonder if, maybe, things could have been different between them.

"Stupid jerk, coming all the way here and making me feel stupid feelings," Romano muttered. Romano watched as Antonio disappeared into the main pavilion. When he was certain he wouldn't be noticed, he snuck away to the festival's opening gates. The employee taking tickets there was Arlleno, a friend of his. Romano tapped Arlleno on the shoulder.

"I can take over for now," Romano said. "You should go on your break."

Arlleno checked his watch.

"It's a bit soon, but, okay."

Romano hopped in front of the gates and greeted the incoming guests with a smile on his face. At least, out there, he knew he wouldn't have to think about that Tomato Bastard.

"Oh, one thing I forgot," Arlleno said. "The boss wanted me to set up a monitor so people don't miss too much while they're waiting in line." With that, Arlleno reached behind the gate and pulled out a television on wheels. He fidgeted with the wires in the back and quickly got the screen to display a live broadcast from inside the main pavilion. Then he patted Romano on the shoulder and waved goodbye.

"Wait!" cried Romano. "Don't leave!"

But it was too late. Romano did his best to keep his fake smile plastered on and ignore that all-too-familiar voice.

"This tomato was inspired by someone very dear to me," Antonio's voice said. "Someone I haven't seen in a long, long time." In the main pavilion, everyone gathered around. Antonio stood on the stage behind a table. On that table was a small object covered by an opaque cloth.

"Although this tomato is sour when you first bite into it, it leaves you with a sweet aftertaste. I have also bred it to have a unique shape which reflects my impression of this person. Without further ado, I present to you..."

Antonio pulled the cloth off the object, which was a tomato. A heart-shaped tomato.

"El Tomato Romano!"

The press crowded around and took a lightning storm of pictures of this new tomato breed. Antonio picked up a knife and cut it into slices, revealing it was heart shaped all the way through. He spread the slices out on a plate where they looked like Valentine's Day cards. The lucky people standing nearest to the stage got to taste a slice. They marvelled at its juicy texture and complex flavour.

"What a wonderful tomato," they said. "Antonio Fernandez has done it again." Antonio smiled in a way that made the crowd think he was quite pleased. However, Romano was watching on the monitor, and he knew what was behind that smile. He bit his lip. To that day, his biggest regret was letting go of what might have been. There was no way he'd make that mistake again.

"Our apologies," he said to the line of guests. "There will be a slight delay." He ran from his post and into the main pavilion. Fighting his way through the crowd, he saw Antonio standing alone on the main stage.

"Hey! Tomato Bastard!"

It was so noisy in the space that Antonio couldn't hear him. The host of the horticulture festival joined Antonio on the stage and announced the next guest of honour. Someone rather tall crossed in front of Romano, and in that instant, Antonio disappeared into the crowd.

"Tomato Bastard!" Romano shouted. No one came forth. The next guest of honour took the stage and it was like Antonio was never there. As the festival continued, Romano hunted for Antonio like nothing else would ever matter. The two never crossed paths. By the end of the last day, Romano had given up. He sat alone on the grass at the edge of the festival grounds. In his hands was a lone tomato. It was as red as the sunset on the horizon. Arlleno came up to Romano and gestured for him to return to the festival grounds.

"If you don't help us pack everything away, Romano, the boss is going to get angry."

Romano shrugged.

"Screw the boss," he grumbled. Arlleno clicked his tongue and walked back to help the other employees dismantle the exhibits. Romano turned the tomato over in his hands, feeling its smooth skin and taking in its sunny scent. A single tear ran down his cheek. Romano hunched over further so that no one would see him this way. To keep himself from crying out loud, he bit into the tomato. It tasted like forgotten love. As he wiped the juice from his mouth, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Give me a goddamn minute here!"

Romano turned around, expecting to see Arlleno, or perhaps, his angry boss. It was Antonio standing over him; same laughing smile, same loving gaze. He sat down on the grass next to Romano.

"You and me, and a sunset, and a tomato," Antonio mused. "It's like nothing ever changed." Romano blinked. He started to say something, but he didn't know what to say. Antonio held out his hand. Romano passed him the tomato, from which Antonio took a bite before handing it back. Fighting back a thousand emotions, Romano leaned against Antonio. Antonio put his arm around Romano and they stared off into the distance. As they watched the sun set, Romano felt his thousand chaotic emotions distill into just one.

"You're not allowed to tell anyone about this, Tomato Bastard," Romano said quietly. Antonio kissed Romano on the cheek.

"Who will I tell?" Antonio asked. "The only one I want to talk to is right here."

Romano wrinkled his nose at the mushy display of emotions.

"I hate you, you know that?"

Antonio held Romano tighter.

"I know," he said. "I know."


End file.
